that he was going back to his Father to pray for them.
That was a pleasant night for the poor disciples. It was not like that
sad night when Jesus was so sorrowful in the garden. His sorrows were
over, and he never would feel pain any more.
There are but three around that table met:
’Tis their last meal, for now the sun has set,
One breaks the bread. I know that lovely face,
That voice—but lo! he’s vanished from the place.
“Was it an angel? No, it was the Lord.
He lives again—he is to us restor’d.”
What joy now fills these hearts that late were fill’d
With fears! Ah, now forever—ever still’d!
“Well might our hearts burn in us by the way
While Jesus spake,” the fond disciples say;
“How sweet was his discourse! we little thought
That it was he. How strange we knew him not!
“But stranger far that we did not believe
That he would rise again! Could _he_ deceive?
O no, he is the faithful and the true,
And what he says he evermore will do.”
Were these their thoughts? And such too will be mine.
When I in glory see my Saviour shine.
For though I know he ever lives to save,
I sometimes doubt his word, and fear the grave.
LESSON XLVII.
THOMAS.
JOHN, xx. 24 to end.
YOU have heard how the disciples saw Jesus in the evening. One of the
disciples was not there when Jesus came. His name was Thomas. I do not
know why he was not there.
When the disciples saw Thomas next, they said to him, We have seen
Jesus. On Sunday night we saw him. He came into the room as we were
sitting together, and he spoke to us. We are sure it was Jesus himself,
because he showed us the marks of the nails in his hands and feet, and
the hole in his side where the spear went in.
But Thomas would not believe the disciples. He said, I do not think you
saw Jesus himself. He died upon the cross. I never will believe, except
I put my fingers into the marks of the nails, and put my hand into the
hole in his side.
It was very wrong of Thomas to speak in this way. He should have
remembered that Jesus had promised to be alive again.
Jesus heard Thomas speak, though Thomas could not see him. But Jesus
was always with the disciples and heard all they said, because he is
God.
Next Sunday evening the disciples were in a room together. Thomas was
there too. The doors were locked to keep the wicked people out; but the
disciples knew that Jesus could come in. And he did come. They saw him
standing in the middle of the room. He spoke kindly to them, and said,
Peace be unto you!
Then he spoke to Thomas. Come, said he to Thomas, here are my hands;
put your finger in the marks: and here is the hole in my side; put your
hand in it.
Now Thomas knew that Jesus had heard him speak so naughtily, and he
felt ashamed and sorry. He saw it was Jesus himself, and he cried out,
My Lord and my God!
Then Jesus said to Thomas, Now you have seen, you believe. Blessed are
they who have not seen, and yet have believed.
Jesus quite forgave Thomas for what he had said, because Thomas really
loved Jesus.
And can the Lord be risen?
The doubting Thomas said;
And has he broke the prison
Where lately he was laid?
Unless I feel, unless I see,
I never can believe ’tis he.
Come, feel these wounded places,
To Thomas Jesus said;
Come see the certain traces
Of blood that I have shed.
Behold, I stand before your eye,
Oh! do you now believe ’tis I?
My Lord, thou art living,
And cloth’d in white array,
The Holy Spirit giving
To all who humbly pray:
And though I neither feel nor see,
I still believe that thou art he.
LESSON XLVIII.
THE DINNER.
JOHN, xxi. 1-19.
JESUS told his disciples to go a great way into the country, and he
said, I will come and see you again. So the disciples went away from
Jerusalem, and they went into the country. They came to the place where
they had once lived, by the water side. They had some ships on the
water, and they used to catch fish when they were in the ships.
One night Peter said to the disciples, I shall go and fish; and the
disciples said, We will go with you. So they got into a ship, and all
night long they tried to catch fish, but they could not catch any.
In the morning they were tired and hungry. They looked up, and saw a
man standing near the water side. They did not know who the man was.
The man called out to them and said, Children, have you anything to eat?
The poor disciples said, No; for they had caught no fish all night.
The man said, Let down your net on the right side of the ship, and you
shall find some fish.
They did as the man told them, and they caught such a number of fishes
in the net, that they could hardly lift it out of the water.
Now John found out who the man was: he said to Peter, It is the Lord.
Peter was very glad, and he jumped into the water, and swam first
to Jesus. The other disciples came soon after in their little ship,
with their nets and their fishes. Jesus knew that they were tired and
hungry. By the water side there was a fire, and some fish on the fire,
and some bread. How kind it was of Jesus to give some food to his poor
hungry disciples!
Jesus said to them, Bring some of the fishes that you have caught. So
Peter went and took up the net and found it full of great fishes: one
hundred and fifty-three.
This was a great miracle that Jesus had done. Then said Jesus to the
disciples, Come and dine. So they all sat down to dine together. Then
Jesus took the bread, and gave some to each; and he took the fish, and
gave some of it to each.
Now the disciples were quite sure that it was Jesus who was feeding
them. This was the way they used to dine together before Jesus had
died. Now he was alive, they dined together again: but they knew he was
not going to stay long with them.
When they had all finished eating, Jesus said to Peter, Do you love me?
Peter said, Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.
Then Jesus said, Feed my lambs, (that is, Teach other people to love
me. Go and tell people about my dying for them).
You, my little children, are Christ’s lambs, and I feed you when I talk
to you about Christ. I feed your souls, and the food is the love of
Jesus.
Peter did love Jesus, and Jesus knew he did. Yet Jesus said again, Do
you love me? Peter said again, Lord, you know I love you. Then Jesus
said, Feed my sheep.
Jesus asked Peter once more the same thing, Do you love me?
Peter was afraid Jesus did not believe him, and this made him sorry. He
said, Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.
Jesus said again, Feed my sheep.
If Peter loved Jesus he would do what Jesus bade him, and go and teach
people.
Do you love Jesus, my little children? What would you answer if Jesus
said to you, Do you love me? Could you say to Jesus, Look into my
heart, and you will see that I love you? If you do really love him, you
will hate lies and passions, and you will try to be kind and gentle,
and to please Jesus all the day.
Why did Jesus ask Peter so often whether he loved him? Why did he ask
him three times over?
Peter had said he did not know Jesus three times over. So Jesus wanted
to hear him say he loved him three times over.
Then Jesus told Peter what would happen to him when he was old. Jesus
said to Peter, When you were young, you walked about where you liked;
but when you are old some men will take you, and stretch out your
hands, and carry you where you do not like to go.
Jesus meant that Peter would be crucified; men would stretch out his
hands on a cross, and nail him as they had done Jesus. Wicked people
would crucify Peter because he loved Jesus; but Peter would never say
again that he did not know Jesus.
Peter was not proud now as he used to be. And Peter would pray to God
to keep him from sin.
LESSON XLIX.
THE ASCENSION.
MATTHEW, xxviii. 16 to end. LUKE, xxiv. 46 to end. ACTS, i. 4-14.
JESUS used to come and see his disciples after he was made alive again;
but he did not live always with them, as he once had done.
He told them he was soon going up to his Father. When I am gone, you
must tell people about me. You must tell the people who crucified me,
that I will forgive them if they are sorry. The Holy Spirit will come
down from heaven, for my Father has promised to send him down soon:
Wait at Jerusalem till he come. I will always be with you, though you
do not see me. Some day I shall come back again.
The disciples asked Jesus when he would come back; but Jesus would not
tell them when.
One day Jesus and his disciples walked together to the top of a hill.
Jesus began to pray with his disciples, and he lifted up his hands and
blessed them. While he was doing this he was taken up to heaven, and
a cloud hid him at last from the eyes of his disciples. They still
looked up, and saw the cloud go higher and higher till they could
see it no more. But still they went on looking. Then they heard some
persons speaking to them; they looked to see who it was, and they saw
two angels standing by them. The angels were dressed in white shining
clothes. They said, Why do you look so long at the sky? Jesus will come
some day again. So the disciples went back to Jerusalem, to wait for
the Holy Spirit.
Perhaps you think they were very unhappy, now Jesus was gone? No, they
were not. They knew he was gone to get a place in heaven ready for
them, and that they should live with him forever; and this made them
glad.
Blessed Lord, I see thee praying,
While thy friends around thee stand,
Clouds I see thy form conveying
To thy Fathers own right hand.
Angels now thy friends are cheering
With bright hopes of thy return:
Looking for thy sweet appearing,
Why should they thine absence mourn?
CHILD.
Art thou, Lord, for me preparing
In thy Fathers house a place?
Thy sweet prayers I would be sharing,
Lest I should forsake thy ways.
Saviour dear, I long to see thee
On the clouds in glory ride,
From all sorrow come to free me,
And to place me by thy side.
LESSON L.
PETER IN PRISON.
ACTS, ii. xii. 1-23.
WHAT had Jesus promised to send when he was gone back to his Father?
The Holy Spirit.
And he did send the Holy Spirit, as he had promised. Then the disciples
began to speak of Jesus to all the wicked people.
They said to them, You have crucified the Son of God. He is alive, and
is gone up to sit on his Fathers throne; but he will forgive you, and
give you the Holy Spirit.
Some of the wicked people were sorry for what they had done to Jesus,
and begged God to forgive them; and some of the wicked people were not
sorry, but tried to kill the disciples.
A wicked king cut off the head of James with a sword, and then shut up
Peter in prison, meaning to kill him soon.
Did you ever see a prison?
It is a dark place with great doors, and bars, and walls all round.
Some soldiers took Peter, and put chains on his hands, and chains on
his feet, and they locked the door of the prison. Men sat at the door,
that no one might get in.
Peters friends were very unhappy because he was in prison; but they
could not take him out. Yet there was one thing they could do; they
could pray to God to save Peter, and so they did. Peter’s friends sat
up at night and prayed to God.
The wicked king said, To-morrow I shall have Peter killed. But God
would not let Peter be killed. So God told one of his beautiful angels
to go and let Peter out of the prison. The angel could go into the
prison without opening the doors.
It was night when the angel came. Peter was asleep. On each side of him
there was a soldier, and Peter was chained to them both. You would not
like to sleep in a prison with soldiers near you, and chains on your
hands; but Peter knew that God loved him, and that he was safe.
So the angel came. It was dark in the prison.
Could Peter see the angel?
Yes; for the angel was bright like the sun, and made the prison light.
The angel touched Peter on the side, and lifted him up, and the chains
fell off Peter’s hands.
He told Peter to put on his clothes; and Peter did so. Then the angel
said, Follow me. So the angel walked first, and Peter followed him.
They went through the prison; but the men at the doors did not see
Peter go out, for God made them sleep. Peter was quite surprised; he
thought he was dreaming, and that he did not see a real angel.
At last Peter came to a great iron gate. It was fast locked; but the
angel took no key to open it. It opened of itself, and let Peter and
the angel go through.
Now they were in the street. Still the angel went on, and Peter came
after him; but they did not speak a word.
All the people were asleep, and did not know that a bright angel was
walking in the street. The angel only walked down one street, and then
he went back to heaven, and left Peter standing alone in the street, in
the dark.
Peter stood some time thinking to himself, What a wonderful thing has
happened! I was shut up in prison; but God has sent his angel to let me
out. The king meant to kill me to-morrow, but now I shall not be killed.
I know that Peter thanked God for his kindness. Peter did not stay all
night in the street. He went to the house of a good woman whom he knew,
and he knocked at the door.
Were the people in the house asleep?
No, they were all awake, though it was night.
Why were they not in bed?
This good woman had heard how the king would kill Peter to-morrow; so
she and her friends were praying for Peter, and while they were praying
they heard a knock: it was a strange thing to hear a knock in the
night; but they never guessed who it was.
A maid named Rhoda went to the door, but she was afraid to open it,
lest it should be some of the wicked people come to kill the poor woman
and her friends; so she stopped at the door without opening it, to hear
who it was: but when she heard Peter speak, how much pleased she was!
she knew his voice. She did not say, Are you Peter? She was sure it
was Peter. She was so much surprised that she forgot to open the door;
but ran back to her mistress and the rest of the disciples, and said,
Peter is standing before the gate; but they said, No, it cannot be
Peter; he is shut up in prison.
The maid said, It is Peter; I am sure it is. While they were talking,
Peter was standing outside, and he went on knocking, because nobody
opened the door. Soon his friends ran and opened the door, and when
they saw Peter they were quite surprised.
How did you get out of prison? they said.
Then Peter made a sign with his hand to make them all quiet, that he
might tell them how he got out of prison.
God sent an angel, said Peter, who brought me out of the prison. Go and
tell all my friends what has happened, for I must go away. So Peter
went and hid himself in a place where the wicked king could not find
him.
What do you think the soldiers said when they could not find Peter in
the morning?
They were much frightened: they saw his chains, but not Peter. They
found the gates locked; they could not think how Peter got out of
prison.
So the king sent for Peter. This was the day when Peter was to be
killed. All the wicked people in Jerusalem were expecting to see him.
The king’s servants said, Where is Peter? Bring him out.
The soldiers answered, We cannot tell where Peter is: he is gone.
The servants went and told the king that Peter was not in prison. The
king was very angry; he said, Bring the soldiers to me. They must have
fallen asleep.
When the soldiers came, they could not tell the king how Peter had got
away. For God had made them sleep when the angel fetched Peter. The
king was in a great rage, and said, The soldiers must be killed.
What a wicked king this was! He loved to do wickedness. He was very
proud, and hated God and God’s people. He fell into passions, and only
cared to please himself. At last God sent an angel to kill him, and
worms ate up his flesh until he died.
God sends angels to punish the wicked, and to help people who love him
as Peter did.
“Awake,” the angel cries; and from the hands
Of wondering Peter fall the iron bands;
The gates fly open of their own accord,
And Peter is to liberty restor’d.
His guide he follows through the gloom of night
(Where angels are there needs no other light);
The angel’s gone, and Peter, left alone,
Sees and admires the love his God has shown.
At yonder gate he knocks; thence prayer ascends,
On this sad night, from Peter’s sorrowing friends:
With glad surprise the maiden hears his voice;
All round him flock and with one heart rejoice.
CHILD.
So, when my body dies, shall angels guide
My happy soul to my dear Father’s side:
To meet me at the gate shall angels throng,
With joy shall tune their harps and raise their song.
LESSON LI.
JOHN.
REV. i. 9-19; iv. 1-5; xxii.
ALMOST all the twelve disciples were killed by wicked men at last. When
Peter was old, some wicked men crucified him, because he loved Jesus.
Now he is in heaven with Jesus, clothed in a white robe, and all his
tears wiped away. His dear Lord Jesus is always near him, and this
makes him happy.
John lived till he was very, very old, indeed. A wicked king caught
him, and put him into a country far away from his friends: there was
water all round, so that he could not get away.
Was John unhappy there?
No; God was with him, and John loved to think of the Father, and of his
Son Jesus.
It was Sunday, and John was thinking of God, when he heard a voice
behind him, like the noise of a trumpet, very loud indeed. He turned
round to see who it was; and whom do you think he saw?
The Lord Jesus come down from heaven, all glorious and shining! When
John saw him, he could not speak or stand; he was afraid, and he fell
down on the ground, as if he were dead. But Jesus touched him with his
hand and said, Fear not; I am he that liveth and was dead, and behold,
I am alive for evermore. Then Jesus took John up into heaven, and an
angel showed him most beautiful things.
John saw a throne on which God sat. There was a rainbow round the
throne. There were a great many seats, and men sitting on them, clothed
in white, with crowns of gold on their heads. The men took off their
crowns, and threw them down before the throne and praised Jesus, the
Lamb of God.
John saw a great many angels, more than he could count, standing round
the throne, singing praises to the Lamb.
But of all the things John saw in heaven, there was nothing so glorious
as God himself.
In heaven there is no sun, nor moon, nor candle, nor lamp. Yet it is
always light, because God shines more brightly than the sun. The music
of harps and sweet singing are always to be heard; for all the angels
can sing the praises of God.
John wondered at the things he saw and heard; and he fell down at the
feet of the angel who had shown them to him.
But the angel said, You must not worship me; I am only a servant of
God: you must worship God.
Then the angel went on speaking and said, Jesus will soon come down
from heaven to judge the world. He will open the gates of heaven to let
those people in who mind God’s word; but those who tell lies, and do
wicked things, shall be shut out.
All people who love Jesus wish him to come again in the clouds.
Do you wish to see Jesus, my little children?
Then you may answer, Even so; come, Lord Jesus.
I hope that when you die your spirit will go to Jesus, and that when
Jesus comes again, he will bring you with him.
John wrote down in a book the things he had seen in heaven. All that
John wrote is in the Bible. At last John died, and his soul went to
God. He is with Jesus now in heaven. He is now playing on a golden
harp, and singing with the angels. But when Jesus comes again in the
clouds, John will come with him.
When John was by the angel led
To the bright world on high,
He saw what joys await the dead
When up to heaven they fly.
He saw them round the Father’s throne,
Gazing upon his face,
Singing to harps of sweetest tone
The praises of his grace.
He saw them clothed in robes of white,
Such as the angels wear,
Shining like stars of morning bright,
And like the angels fair.
He saw the city where they dwelt;
(Whose praises can’t be told);
The walls of precious stones were built,
The streets were purest gold.
He saw the Lamb whose blood was spill’d,
To give his people rest:
With his bright beams the place was filled,
And every heart was blest.
Charm’d with the sight, John bent his knee
Before that angel fair,
Who said, “Thou must not worship me;
To God address thy prayer.”
LESSON LII.
THE JUDGMENT DAY.
I. THESS. iv. 15-17. REV. xx. 11 to end.
YOU know that Jesus will come again in the clouds?
Little children, do you know when he will come? Shall I tell you when
Jesus will come? You would like to know; but I cannot tell you when: I
do not know. The angels do not know what day it will be. No one knows
but God. There will be many wicked people in the world then, and some
good people. An angel will blow a great trumpet, and Jesus will say to
the people who are dead, Come out of your graves.
The bodies of all the dead people will come out of their graves. Those
who love Christ will be like the angels, and will fly up into the air.
If you are alive when Jesus comes, he will catch you up in the air to
meet him.
As soon as you see Jesus you will be like him, all shining and
glorious. Jesus will be king over the whole world, and make all people
happy.
At last Jesus will sit upon a white throne, and everybody will stand
round his throne. He will open some books, in which he has written down
all the naughty things people have done. God has seen all the naughty
things you have done. He can see in the dark as well as in the light,
and knows all your naughty thoughts. He will read everything out of his
books before the angels that stand around. Yet God will forgive some
people, because Christ died upon the cross.
Whom will he forgive?
Those who love Jesus with all their hearts. He has written down their
names in another book, called The Book of Life. He will forgive their
sins, wipe away their tears, and let them live with him forever.
Do you hope that Jesus has written down your name in his book?
Ask him to give you his Holy Spirit. Then you will love Jesus, and hate
to do wickedly.
This is what God will do to those who do not love him—God will bind
them in chains, and put them in a lake of fire. There they will gnash
their teeth, and weep and wail forever.
God will put Satan in the same place, and all the devils. Satan is
the father of the wicked, and he and his children shall be tormented
forever. They shall not have one drop of water to cool their burning
tongues. Many people in hell will say, How I wish I had listened to the
words of my teachers! But I would not mind; and now it is too late. I
never can come out of this dreadful place. How foolish I have been!
Once God would have heard my prayers, but now I weep and wail in vain.
I hope, my dear children, that none of you will ever speak such sad
words.
Remember Satan goes about as a cunning serpent, trying to make you
disobey God; but Christ will keep you from wickedness, if you pray to
him.
One day God will burn up this world we live in. It is dreadful to see a
house on fire. Did you ever see one? But how dreadful it will be to see
this great world and all the houses and trees burning! The noise will
be terrible: the heat will be very great. The wicked will not be able
to get away. They will be cast into the lake of fire. The world will
not burn forever; God will make another world, much better than this.
If you are God’s child, you will not be frightened when the world is
burning, for you will be safe with Jesus, praising him for having loved
and saved you.
How oft behind yon hill
The sun has hid his face!
How oft return’d to fill
With joyful light the place!
And shall the sun forever thus return?
Shall morn succeed to eve, and eve to morn?
Oh no! the day shall come,
(And who can tell how soon!)
When dark shall be that sun,
And red the silver moon:
When sun or moon shall never more return,
But God on clouds shall come the world to burn.
Oh! say shall I be there,
To see the dreadful glare,
The dreadful sound to hear,
The dreadful heat to bear,
Of falling crags and rocks, of roaring seas,
Of smoking hills, and flaming earth and skies?
Oh! yes, I shall be there;
The graves shall open’d be;
_All_ shall the trumpet hear,
The Judge’s face shall see:
In vain shall some upon the mountains call,
To hide their heads from him who judges all.
The books shall then be read,
In which our God has wrote
All that we ever said,
Or ever did or thought;
And many cheeks with burning shame shall glow,
And many souls be plunged in deepest woe.
And how shall I escape
From endless misery?
My sins, a mighty heap,
Show I deserve to die.
And yet to think upon that burning lake
Makes my flesh tremble, and my bones to shake.
Lord! by the blood he shed
Who hung upon the tree,
Before the books are read,
May my sins pardon’d be!
And then my tears shall all be wiped away,
And I shall dwell in everlasting day.
THE END.
ALTEMUS’ NEW ILLUSTRATED
Young People’s Library